The Detroit Pistons are close to reaching an agreement with free agent Chris Webber, sources close to the negotiations said Thursday night.

Webber, 33, who had the final two seasons of his contract bought out by the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, will return to his Michigan roots where he once starred for Detroit Country Day High School and the University of Michigan.

Webber, who's still clearing waivers, can't officially with a team until Monday. He is expected to sign for a pro-rated $1.87 million-a-season, 10-year-veteran contract.

All along, sources said, the Pistons were Webber's No. 1 choice upon leaving the 76ers. They would give him a chance to finally reach the NBA Finals and perhaps compete for his first NBA title.

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If Webber does go to the Pistons and tries, they could well be back to the finals as he would give them a very good scorer, rebounder and passer. Could amount to nothing but could be the biggest move of the season

migya wrote:If Webber does go to the Pistons and tries, they could well be back to the finals as he would give them a very good scorer, rebounder and passer. Could amount to nothing but could be the biggest move of the season

Webber won't mean much for Detroit. No player with one leg helps any team...

migya wrote:If Webber does go to the Pistons and tries, they could well be back to the finals as he would give them a very good scorer, rebounder and passer. Could amount to nothing but could be the biggest move of the season

Webber won't mean much for Detroit. No player with one leg helps any team...

You know he can be much more than that! He has talent and last season showed that he can still perform

Webber showed last year, when people wrote him off, that he's still capable of being a factor. I'm not saying he's got an all-star caliber year left in him (as far I'm concerned, last year was his final "Chris-Webber" season). But the guy can definately be a powerful role player, if he can park his ego.

Being traded seemed insulting enough to him a couple years ago; imagine how motivated he is after being released for nothing. If Webber signs with the Pistons, he'll start next to Rasheed... and likely jump-start the Piston offense with his slick inside passing and underrated post moves (everybody's writing the guy off, but I've still seen him able to beat his man in the post. His leg's not THAT bad, when he actually plays).

I hope to God he stays in the Eastern Conference. We don't need any more star power in the West (especially the freakin' Pacific).

I was talking from a team standpoint; the 76ers would rather pay him to stay home than even have him show up. He's not even a worthy bargaining chip to them. As far as they're concerned, Webber hurt the team just by being there... and they're willing to buy him out, rather than stick it out with him (or even attempt to trade him). That's motivation enough for anybody, if you ask me (let alone somebody like Chris Webber, who took being traded for Brian Skinner very personally).

Tim Thomas (a role player, at best, his entire career) took a buy-out very personally and looked like an all-star on the Suns. Webber is a former franchise player who just got bought out. I'd bet we're in store for a motivated, season-ending spree from CWebb.

#32 wrote:Tim Thomas (a role player, at best, his entire career) took a buy-out very personally and looked like an all-star on the Suns. Webber is a former franchise player who just got bought out. I'd bet we're in store for a motivated, season-ending spree from CWebb.

I don't think those situations can be compared. Webber's issues are health related, while Tim Thomas' problems have always been about motivation. He played well for the Suns because he was motivated to do so (and having Nash helps).

Webber proved last year that some of those so-called "health issues" can be solved with a little motivation.

There's no reason to sugarcoat it; Webber fakes injuries. I'm sure his knee is bugging him, but the amount of time he takes off is absurd. And the reason he doesn't come back quicker is not because he's healing, it's because he can sit back and make millions of dollars and is just plain content going out in the first round of the playoffs. Winning doesn't seem to be a goal for Chris Webber. That's why he doesn't care about the team, most seasons.

After being personally dissed by the 76ers, he'll have something to prove. That's why he'll do better when he signs with the Pistons.

#32 wrote:Webber proved last year that some of those so-called "health issues" can be solved with a little motivation.

There's no reason to sugarcoat it; Webber fakes injuries. I'm sure his knee is bugging him, but the amount of time he takes off is absurd. And the reason he doesn't come back quicker is not because he's healing, it's because he can sit back and make millions of dollars and is just plain content going out in the first round of the playoffs. Winning doesn't seem to be a goal for Chris Webber. That's why he doesn't care about the team, most seasons.

Yeah, well, if he's been faking his injury (or, better, faking how bad it was) that would be a motivation for the Sixers to buy him out... It doesn't have much sense to buy him out now, as he would be an expirer (that means, a valuable and tradable asset) next year.

That's the point. Instead of allowing him to expire by simply burying him on the bench (or even attempting to trade him contract, which would be worth a lot to many teams - Golden State included), the 76ers wrote off Chris Webber and sent him home.

Webber, like Thomas, now has more motivation than ever to have a monster finish to this season.

#32 wrote:Winning doesn't seem to be a goal for Chris Webber. That's why he doesn't care about the team, most seasons.

After being personally dissed by the 76ers, he'll have something to prove. That's why he'll do better when he signs with the Pistons.

Now that he is at home in Michigan and since the Pistons are a great team, he might just see his best chance to win a championship and play better than he has in many years. I think this wil happen if he indeed does sign with the Pistons. He is not worthy of a championship but the Pistons are and they should ride him as much as they can. With Webber, Rasheed, McDyess and the recently producing well Dale Davis, the Pistons will have a formidable PF and Center rotation that can matchup with any other in the nba, probably will be the best actually

migya wrote:With Webber, Rasheed, McDyess and the recently producing well Dale Davis, the Pistons will have a formidable PF and Center rotation that can matchup with any other in the nba, probably will be the best actually

There's just one problem: none of those guys are centers.

Not even Dale Davis (whose been playing a lot of 5, ever since he left Indiana) is a natural center. It's true (talent-wise), they'd be the best the league had to offer... but size also plays a big role. What happens when Detroit plays Miami in the playoffs?

Their only hope is that somebody else knocks off the reeling Heat before they have to face them. And then, there's the off-chance that they'll have to play Dallas' large lineup in the Finals. Detroit would have tons of talent, but not much size inside. Unless Rasheed or Webber eats themselves to 300 lbs (like Shawn Kemp did for Portland), they'll be a band of PF's playing the 4 and 5 spots.

... But, hey, if you're Detroit, at least you'd be happy people are saying you're in the race for Finals again. Right now (sans Webber), they don't look like they'll make it past a lot of the teams in the East. Don't get me wrong; they're still contenders. But ask Denver: there's a difference between being a "contender" and a "serious contender".

#32 wrote:hey, if you're Detroit, at least you'd be happy people are saying you're in the race for Finals again. Right now (sans Webber), they don't look like they'll make it past a lot of the teams in the East. Don't get me wrong; they're still contenders. But ask Denver: there's a difference between being a "contender" and a "serious contender".

They're a contender for their conference, at best. I can't see them beating the west champs in a series.

btw, you're forgetting about Nazr Mohammed and Maxiell (this one another PF, but who deserves more minutes than Webber at this point). Their inside game is just fine (for the east), it's the coaching what worries me.

With that said, this may be the last year of these Pistons. Chauncy Billups may at the end of the season, and that would leave them without their PG and the guy that keeps the team together... and Flip Murray won't be able to do that for them.

migya wrote:With Webber, Rasheed, McDyess and the recently producing well Dale Davis, the Pistons will have a formidable PF and Center rotation that can matchup with any other in the nba, probably will be the best actually

There's just one problem: none of those guys are centers.

Not even Dale Davis (whose been playing a lot of 5, ever since he left Indiana) is a natural center. It's true (talent-wise), they'd be the best the league had to offer... but size also plays a big role. What happens when Detroit plays Miami in the playoffs?

Their only hope is that somebody else knocks off the reeling Heat before they have to face them. And then, there's the off-chance that they'll have to play Dallas' large lineup in the Finals. Detroit would have tons of talent, but not much size inside. Unless Rasheed or Webber eats themselves to 300 lbs (like Shawn Kemp did for Portland), they'll be a band of PF's playing the 4 and 5 spots.

... But, hey, if you're Detroit, at least you'd be happy people are saying you're in the race for Finals again. Right now (sans Webber), they don't look like they'll make it past a lot of the teams in the East. Don't get me wrong; they're still contenders. But ask Denver: there's a difference between being a "contender" and a "serious contender".

Dale Davis is 6'11, as is Rasheed and both are very good defense. Ben Wallace is 6'9 and guarded Shaq just beautifully in the finals three seasons ago, with or without Webber, they can guard ANY team in the nba well! The Mavs have garbage upfront, except for Nowitzki, as their Centers are defenders only.

The Pistons are still the best in the East and the Heat just beat them last season. With Webber they should be favourites to win the East as they are consistent and know how to win